Correlates of Hiv Perceived Risks and Protective Strategies Among Adolescents in Rural Malawi.
Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The study examined correlates of HIV perceived risks and protective strategies among \nadolescents in rural Malawi i.e. whether there was an association between socio \ndemographic characteristics of adolescents and subsequent HIV perceived risks and \nprotective strategies. Age at sexual debut is a variable of interest in this study. The objectives \nwere to investigate whether age at first sexual intercourse does influence adolescents’ \nindividual’s risk perceptions of HIV and protective strategies, i.e. does age at first sex set a \nprecedence in the thinking of adolescentswith regards HIV risks and protective strategies \nsuch as condom use. \nData: This study uses cross sectional data from Wave 3 of a wider study, the Malawi \nDiffusion and Ideational Change Project (MDICP).The MDICP is a joint collaboration \nbetween researchers from the Population Studies Centre at the University of Pennsylvania \nand the University of Malawi‘s College of Medicine and Chancellor College. In this study, a \nmultiple regression analysis on the cross sectional data from the 2004 wave 3of the Malawi \nDiffusion and Ideational Change Project was done. The focus of this study is on the \nrelationship between age at first sexual intercourse and the individual‘s perception of risk of \nHIV/AIDS and protective strategies, it examines if there is an association between the two \nfactors. \nDescriptive analysis: Descriptive statistics to obtain the frequencies of the main variables of \ninterest such as the background characteristics of respondents (gender, marital status, mean \nage at sexual debut, education, economic status of household) were computed in order to \nbetter understand the population under study. \nMultivariate Analysis: Three separate models were employed; two multinomial regression \nanalysis measuring worry and likelihood of infection against socio demographic variables \nand a binary logistic regression measuring condom use and the socio demographic \nvariables. Relative Risk Ratios were used to interpret the multinomial logistic regression \noutput while odds ratios were used to interpret the logistic output. \nResults: Consistent with existing literature, results indicate that early age at first sex is \na predictor of HIV risk perceptions and protective strategies. Age at first sex does set a \nprecedence in the future thinking of adolescents with regards to how they perceive HIV risks, \nas well as how they perceive protective strategies against HIV-particularly condom use. This \nstudy confirms that age at first sex alongside with other socio demographic variables are \nsignificantly associated with HIV risk perceptions HIV and condom use, while other factors \nmay matter, such as gender, region, HIV knowledge, religion or educational level. \nLimitations: The information on age at first sexual encounter was based exclusively on \nrespondent’s self–reports. This data collection method often has limitations that are \nattributed to the tendency for people to under-report socially unacceptable behaviours (e.g. \nhaving multiple sex partners) and to over-report socially acceptable behavior. The other \nlimitation is that the study lacks longitudinal data to allow a more in-depth analysis of trends \nin HIV/AIDS-related indicators.
Author: Christopher. Manyamba
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Inyuvesi Yakwazulu-Natali
OpenAlex ID: W2119205132